What Can the BN-20A Do: Is Roland BN-20A Worth It?

If you're looking to increase production and expand your small business with an all-in-one printer and cutter you are probably wondering "What can the BN-20A do?"

Knowing what the 20" ecosolvent print and cut machine can do can help you decide if the Roland BN-20A is worth the start up price for your small business.  Read on for a look at just how versatile the BN-20A is and what all it can do. 

The BN-20A is the 20" CMYK ecosolvent printer and cutter from Roland. Solvent ink is scratch resistant, water resistant, and fade resistant making it ideal for outdoor and heavy handling and even t shirt transfers.

It can print and cut a wide variety of materials from paper to sticker vinyl to window cling and HTV.  The print quality is exceptional, although the cutting is often considered slow especially in high quality mode.  Given that the BN-20A is both a printer and a cutter it avoid the need to layer, but does not avoid the need to cut and weed like a DTF printer (limited to garments) or white toner printer (small and more labor intensive) would. 

Roland BN-20 vs BN-20A

The BN-20A model is different than the BN-20 because the A model only has four ink channels and can not print white or take metallic inks. The lack of white ink, however, not only keeps the price of the printer and cutter lower, it also keeps the maintenance more manageable.  

While you can not print white on the BN-20A most users find they most often print on white material and therefore the raw material acts as the "white" in the design anyway. 

The BN-20A can not accept the metallic inks either, due to only having four ink slots, however, you can often achieve a metallic look with the print or you can print on metallic or holographic material to achieve a similar look.

I have created an interactive gallery of BN-20A projects so you can see for yourself what you can make with the BN-20A and if it's worth it.  If you click any of the images below it will take you to a tutorial and/or supply list for that project.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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